Maharani of the Skies Chapter 2 (Needs Help)

Chatsworth High School, in Durban, is where many prominent Indian citizens had been educated during its great past.

In the year of this story, the Grade 12 class included three scholars. At first their paths did not cross and they wandered around different parts of the playground. However, in their final year they came to know each other. As their friendship developed they all seemed to realise instinctively that their lives and their destinies would become interwoven quite dramatically.

Every now and then Rakesh and Haya would meet on the playground and they would then usually exchange a few friendly words like "hi", "what are you doing?" and so on.
Once, while they were talking, Haya saw Jason swing from branch to branch of a tree. He did not use two hands like the other youths did. He was able to do his swings first with one hand and then with the other. Sometimes he hung upside down with his legs hooked over a branch.

"Rakesh, look. Who's that strange boy over there? He's almost as agile as a monkey."
"Oh, him! That's Jason. He's a great guy. He can do anything. He's, in fact, even more agile than any monkey."
"Well then, let him be that wonderful. He seems to keep to himself all the time. Our paths will probably never cross."
Little did she and Rakesh realise that that same unusual youth would one day play major roles in both of their lives. Neither did she realise that from that moment on, she would meet Jason over and over again and that she would begin to see him in a more glowing light each time.

It was the Grade 12 farewell dance and Haya had been enjoying herself. She had laughed, joked and teased and been micheviously teased by her class mates. For a moment she forgot the sadness that she had previously been feeling because they were now in the final days at the school and were about to go separate ways.
She had been invited by various youths to dance but had, unfortunately, come to the conclusion that the school had not, during that particular year, produced many great dancers and so she declined most invitations and was content to sit at her table chatting with her friends.

On the way back from the cool drink stand, she found someone blocking her path. She looked up... into a pair of amazingly penetrating eyes. She never forgot that first experience of the power of that gaze nor the colour of the eyes...a luminous grey.
"Hello Haya. You're alone. That's so unusual. Why don't you dance with me?"
Overcome by surprise, she barely managed to nod her head. She watched as he put her cool drink down on a nearby table and then perhaps a little too eagerly she stepped forward into his arms and was promptly swept away onto the dance floor.

For the first time in her life, she realised what dancing was really about. It had nothing to do with the feet. In fact, she thought, that if you kept on thinking about your feet, you probably weren't really dancing, were you?
She realised that night that dancing could become a metaphysical experience. As she danced, it embraced her, filled her with sublime joy and then left her breathless. When the music stopped, she recovered her composure just enough to hear his words.

"Thank you, Haya. I enjoyed that. My name is Jason, by the way."
She was momentarily uncertain of herself and blurted a few words that came to her head.
"So you are not just a monkey boy... Oh! I'm so sorry. Forget that I said that. I wasn't thinking!"
"It's OK, Haya. I know what you mean. Sometimes when I'm out on the cliffs, I feel like a monkey. In fact, I've watched them closely and learned much from them about climbing." He was laughing as he spoke.
"OK, Jason. Thank you for the dance."
She felt a tinge of disappointment as he turned around quickly and walked lithely away.

As she looked at his departing back she had a strange thought. "Papa would love that guy."

The three scholars, Haya, Rakesh and Jason were all accepted for further studies at the University of Natal in Durban. Each followed a different academic path. They chose study plans that most suited to their vision of the future. Each had their own dream.

Rakesh was the communicator. He was the glue that held the three together. He had become very attached to Haya and Jason and made sure that he knew what was happening in each one's life. Whenever they got together, it was inevitably Rakesh who had arranged it.
He, of course, knew that Haya was continuing with her flying lessons over weekends. She had convinced her father that she was a naturally gifted and even brilliant learner pilot. Her father, who had met many trainees before, knew that his daughter had an exceptional talent.
That she would obtain her normal pilot's licence was perhaps a forgone conclusion. The examiner privately told her father that, with further training, she may soon be good enough to fly more advanced aircraft.

He, Rakesh, whenever he could, would visit his mother's farm. He went there at least on one weekend per month and also during all vacations. He assisted his mother with certain difficult tasks. He held many discussions with the foremen and explained their tasks to them. He also made sure that all parts and spares needed were ordered on time.
There was, however, one thing on the farm that he refused to do. He had never flown one of the two crop dusters. They had been on the farm when his father had bought the farm many years ago. He did, however, look after these special aircraft meticulously. He painted them in glorious colours and even named them Krishna and Radha.

Rakesh never ceased to be fascinated by Jason. It was as if Jason had the devil may care and adventurous lifestyle that he would have loved to share. Because of his great love of the outdoors, it was of no surprise to Rakesh when Jason joined a team of adventure athletes. Every second weekend they undertook outdoor trials that were physically very strenuous.
They had, for example, already completed a course of twelve parachute jumps and were, at that moment, learning about the finer points of hang gliding.
Their exploits had become known in certain official military circles and they had recently received an invitation to join a special branch of the defence force. It was the defining moment when his life took a dramatic turn..

Soon afterwards, Jason was persuaded to join a military Special Services Unit on a full-time basis once he graduated. This meant that he would do intense counter-insurgency training for a six month period after graduating.
In this period, he would be taught the theory and practise of mountaineering, hang gliding, mountain motorcycling, hand-to-hand combat, emergency procedures behind enemy lines and first aid. He would also become familiar of the latest military aids, such as night-time binoculars, vision enhancing goggles, communication aids, hand weapons, stun grenades and flares.

Because of this action, his life changed dramatically. What had been care free fun before
was now part of strict military routines. Somehow he knew that he was about to discover what dangerous living really was.

One day Raj, while at home between two of his inter continental flights, knocked on his daughter's bedroom door. She joyfully answered: "Is that you, Papa?"
"Yes, my angel. May I come in?"
"Of course, Papa! Come in. What's up?"
"Have you ever thought about why I so often call you ‘angel'? If you don't know then I'll have to tell you. You see you are not only an angel in my eyes but also you fly like one... and that brings me to why I'm here now."
"Oh my. What is on your mind, Papa?"
"I saw how easily you passed your pilot's licence test. That led me to think about your career very deeply. Because of all this and some enquiries that I've made, there is now something that I should discuss with you as soon as possible."

Haya raised her eyebrows and she looked excited but obviously mystified.
"That sounds great but waaht's it all about? Come on, Papa, don't hold back. Tell me what it is."
"No, sweetie. Not here. The atmosphere must be just right. I want us to be among the eagles when we do it. They will play a role in my story. Now this is my plan."
"I have booked a chalet for us in the Oribi Gorge for this weekend. Come, let you and I go there and be among those beautiful birds. Once there, we'll talk about my proposal."
"OK, Papa. You're obviously in one of your very dramatic moods. This is like a scene from a movie. OK Papa, I'll let you have your moment. In fact, it sounds very exciting. Let's do it."

After that conversation, Haya could not help thinking about the strange proposal that her father had in mind. In the end, she gave up. Her father had been far too mysterious. His proposal had to be one totally out of the ordinary.

That night, she sat up in her bed paging through her favourite book: a collection of poems by Kabir, Rumi and Mirabai. She smiled when she found a line of poetry to be of particular interest: "High on the Mountain where the Wind blows Free".
She read the poem again and again. "What can this possibly mean? Is there a message for me hidden in there somewhere?" Without finding an answer, she finally closed the book and settled back on her pillow... and soon fell asleep.

On the following Friday afternoon, Raj and his daughter drove down to the southern part of Natal and then, when near Margate, turned westwards to the huge Oribi Gorge
that had very fortunately been left untouched by the ravishing of modern society. This gorge was still the home of many indigenous birds and the main breeding ground for many of the eagles in the Southern Hemisphere.
After arriving at the edge of the gorge, just about where the road leading down to the valley below began, Raj began to look for the sign for a particular camping site that had a number of attractive chalets. When he saw the " Eagle's Nest" board, he smiled and said "there we are angel". They immediately turned off the main tourist road onto a local path. Soon they arrived at the weekend retreat that he had specially selected.

They checked in, unpacked and then went to their rooms to freshen up. Later in the evening, they met and went for a short exploratory walk to admire the sunset. Then they returned and enjoyed a delightful dinner together before retiring for an early night. All through the meal Raj had most frustratingly retained his air of mystery and frequently asked Haya to wait until the morning.

Haya woke up early the next morning just before sunrise. Something had stirred her. She felt an irresistible desire to dress and go outside without wasting another moment. Yes, there was an undeniable feeling of urgency.

"Am I somehow meant to do this?" she asked the mirror. She hurriedly  donned her gold coloured track suit and then stepped outside. In front of her door was a footpath leading gently upwards towards a nearby mountain cliff. Her father was apparently not yet awake but she did not want to delay her walk any longer.
" Papa will understand. I just have to go up there. I feel this irresistible urge. I don't know why but I'm somehow being driven to do this."

After about an hour of fairly easy uphill walking, she eventually found herself at the top on a small plateau between several large boulders. She looked down over the edge of a cliff and saw that she was about 120 metres higher than the level of the plain below.
The Cape Eagles had already begun foraging for food supplies for their families. She admired their precise navigation skills and their uncanny ability to locate and exploit the thermal lift air currents, where these were available.
The views to all corners of the valley were magnificent especially while the cliff sides appeared to be gaudily painted by the morning sun. The whole picture was quite breathtakingly vibrant.

After a while, her attention was drawn to something unusual above her. When she had first spotted it, it had seemed to be fairly small. Then it had become progressively larger until it was eventually larger than an eagle. As she stared at it, she could see that, whatever it was, it could fly as well as any bird. It turned, dived and then rose on upward thermal currents as if it was the master of the forces of nature.